High School "Beat the Heat" League
This page explains what GLD's Highschool "Beat the Heat" League is, when it is, and why we do it!
When is the Highschool Beat the Heat program?
Gates open at 5pm.
What is the Highschool Beat the Heat program?
The Highschool Beat the Heat program is meant to encourage high school aged new drivers to keep the speed and racing on the strip, and not on the street. Great Lakes Dragaway is an officially sanctioned NHRA Dragstrip, and we have partnered with local police officers to teach young drivers the dangers of street racing, why all racing should be kept to a safe and legal race track, and to provide our teen drivers a place to fast without getting in trouble. The students compete against each other as well as against law enforcement officers for points. The points totals are kept thru-out the season and there is a champion crowned at the end of the season.
How is the program ran?
The Highschool Beat the Heat program is a bracket race. Everyone races each other until there is one person left, then that one person races the police car. See below for how bracket racing works...
Am I eligible to enter?
To race in GLD's Highschool Beat the Heat league, the following conditions must be met:
- You must be a current highschool student, or have graduated during the last school season
- You need a valid driver's license
- DOT legal tires only
- Car cannot go faster than 12.00 seconds
- Racing is 1/4 mile
What is bracket racing?
A very brief summary of bracket racing would be that the goal is to run exactly, or as close to, what elapsed time you say your vehicle will run, without going faster. The concept is to come closer to your specified time than your opponent does.
An example works like this:
You tell us your vehicle will run 10.37 seconds in a 1/4 mile. Your "dial in" is then 10.37 seconds.
Your opponent tells us their vehicle will run 10.85 seconds in a 1/4 mile. Their dial in is then 10.85 seconds.
Since you said you are four seconds faster than your opponent, your opponent gets a .048 second head start. They will see the green light four seconds before you do. Your goal is to then catch your opponent to the finish line.
To prevent cheating, if you or your opponent go faster than what you or they dialed-in, that person will then automatically lose. If both of you go faster than your dial in, the person who "broke the rule" by the least amount will win. In addition, if you or your opponent leave the starting line before your green light comes on (called "red lighting") this is an automatic DQ as well. Again, if both racers red light, then the first person who red lights will lose.
The concept of bracket racing is to make the racing about driver skill, not about how fast you can go. Having a great reaction time, and getting your vehicle dialed-in, is a skill that can be done by beginners, but isn't truly mastered without lots of experience.
The loser of a bracket race is eliminated from the competition. The winner goes on to the next round, and will compete against someone else who won in the previous round as well. These rounds of eliminations keep happening until there is one person left, and if you are the last person standing, you win the glory and the prize!
Bracket racing is available for anyone, no matter how fast or how slow they go. There are separate classes for different ranges of ETs. Even if you and your opponent have a big gap between dial-ins, that's okay because the difference in ETs is the handicap!
For more info:
Call Chris Hohensee at 414-963-1020 extension 110.
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